


when everyone's gone who do you become?

by JkWriter



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 12:05:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18314945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JkWriter/pseuds/JkWriter
Summary: klaus watched them deteriorate, watched them go crazy after everyone's moved on





	when everyone's gone who do you become?

The worst part, Klaus thought, was watching them deteriorate. He’s seen loving grandmothers who would remind him to eat turn into murderous poltergeists, small children who just wanted to play with their mysterious new friend turn into the literal demons. You’d think he’s grown used to it after seeing it happen hundreds of times over the years, but it never gets easier. How can he when each spirit is loving the first time they appear? They’re scared and confused, worried about what’s going to happen to their family, and concerned about the afterlife. How is Klaus supposed to turn them down? 

The answer: he doesn't. 

"Who are you?" 

Klaus barely even bats an eye at the new spirit, a young kid, maybe a teenager, who shows up in his room asking questions. They're always confused because to them, Klaus is in the wrong. 

"I'm Klaus," he said to the teen, definitely a teen. Maybe even older than Klaus. 

"Klaus," the teen said, testing out the name. "Klaus. I've seen you before." 

"Yup, probably have." 

"Where?"

Klaus didn't answer. He rolled up his sleeve and held up his arm, showing off the Umbrella Academy symbol that clearly labeled who he was. The teen stared, eyes widening in recognition and said a simple "oh." 

"You're the Séance," the teen said. He floated around Klaus' room, looking at all of the Umbrella Academy memorabilia Klaus collected over the years.

"That I am." 

"You can see ghosts." 

"Yup." 

"Am I dead?" 

"Hella dead." Klaus realized he probably shouldn't have worded it like that but the damage is done. 

"Oh."

"Sorry for your loss of life." 

That could be the end of it. Sometimes, that is the end of it, but the teen wasn't ready to leave yet. So Klaus didn't make him. 

"I'm Graham." 

"Nice to meet you, Graham." 

"I think it was a car accident," Graham said. He had a chunk of glass sticking out of his side so Klaus was inclined to agree. Of course, Graham didn't notice this. Most spirits didn't notice when they were a mess. 

"It happens. Most people are accidents. Sometimes it murders or suicide, but mostly accidents." 

"Do you ever see people who died of natural causes or is it just freaky things?" 

"Natural causes happen but they're less frequent. I think they're more at peace with life or something so they don't really have a reason to stick around." 

"Where do they go?"

"Fuck if I know."

"That's not very helpful," Graham complained. It sounded more like whining. It was funny seeing this high school looking teenager whining about Klaus not knowing where people go after death. 

"I don't see anyone after they're gone. Can't really ask who you don't see." 

"What exactly do you do then?"

"That, Graham, is a great question. When I find out what I'm useful for I'll let you know." 

"That's kind of depressing." 

"Well, I'm a depressing person." 

Graham vanished after that. Klaus thought he was gone for good until he made an appearance during dinner one night. Klaus couldn't say anything, but he did follow Graham with his eyes as the teen explored the dining room. 

"Dude, you live in a literal mansion," Graham said as he went to touch a cabinet of China they weren't allowed to use. Graham's hand went right through it. "Right, forgot about that." Graham looked back to the table of superheroes. "Why aren't you guys saying anything? Is talking during dinner banned or something?" Klaus nodded. "Fuck dude, that sucks."

"Number Four," Reginald Hargreeves said, voice echoing through the room. "Stop daydreaming and eat your meal before you're sent upstairs without it." 

Klaus stopped looking at Graham and stared down at the plate of food in front of him. He could hear Graham continuing to explore and making comments as he did. He didn't think about that. If he focused on dinner then he could finish and go upstairs without any incidents. 

The next time Klaus saw Graham was after a trip to the mausoleum. It was torturous training and always left Klaus drained and wanting to forget. Graham was in his room when he walked in. 

"Dude, I've been waiting around for three days. Where have you been?" 

"Training." Klaus started peeling off his sweat-soaked uniform. He didn't care Graham was there, he stopped caring about who was there when he was nine. 

"You look like hell." Graham turned the other way, which was nice of him, Klaus thought. "What the hell kind of training do you do?"

"The kind that kills me inside." 

"I thought you were already dead inside." 

"The kind that kills what little hope I had for the world inside." 

"Jesus." 

There was knocking on the door. Klaus knew it was Ben. He and Ben always checked on each other after training knowing what it took out of them. 

"That's Ben." Klaus finished pulling on his pajamas. "He'll probably stay here tonight." 

"I can leave if you want." 

"I don't really care." Klaus opened the door. Ben stood on the other side fiddling with his hands. "Welcome to my humble abode, my dearest Ben." 

"Are you okay, Klaus?" 

"Never been better." 

"I heard you talking to someone...Did someone follow you home?" Ben looked around the room as though he might see whoever was haunting his brother. 

"Nah, Graham's pretty chill. He's been here a couple weeks."

Ben relaxed at those words. "Oh, okay good. I was worried that another one followed you home." 

"What would have followed you home?"

"Don't worry about that, Graham. You'll probably never meet them." Klaus hoped so at least. Graham didn't deserve to see what spirits could become. It was a haunting experience. 

"Is Graham nice?"

"As nice as a former football player can be." 

"I played lacrosse." 

"Former lacrosse player can be." Klaus corrected. 

"I'm glad. Hi, Graham. I'm sorry you died."

"Can he hear me?" 

"Nope, but I can pass on any message you might have for little Benny here." 

"Tell him I said thanks." 

"Graham says thanks for being such a loving and caring person, Ben." 

Graham sighed and like before he vanished. Klaus didn't see him for a year after that. He hoped Graham moved on. He thought Graham moved on. Then Graham came back. 

Klaus knew what was happening the second Graham popped into his vision. His eyes were hollow, lacking the emotion they used to hold. His wounds had grown past the embedded glass and scratches. This must have been what Graham actually looked like after the crash. Something changed and he was embracing it.

"They moved on," Graham said, standing at the foot of Klaus' bed. It reminded Klaus of their first meeting. He had a feeling this one wasn't going to be as pleasant. 

"You're going to have to be more specific there, my dude."

"My family and friends moved on." 

"Oh, well, yeah. That happens." 

"Why?" 

Klaus didn't know why. He never understood why people would move on when their loved ones were still around. Maybe it was because he could actually see the spirits, but Klaus hated it.

He shrugged and tried to ignore the energy building around Graham. If he ignored it then it wasn't happening. Graham would be a smiley teen again going on and on about his parents and girlfriend. 

"She hasn't visited in weeks. It's only been a year, how could she have forgotten so quickly?" 

"She hasn't, but she can't stay stuck in the past. You said it earlier, you didn't want to see them sad forever." 

"I know what I said, but is it supposed to hurt this much?"

"I don't know. I'm not a spirit, I just talk to them." 

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU KNOW?"

"Jesus, calm down, Graham. I can ask around, try to find out what's happening."

"NO!" The Graham Klaus knew was gone. In his place was another lost soul being warped by a moving society. "YOU SAID THOSE AT PEACE MOVE ON, WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GO?" 

Klaus cowered on his bed. By now Graham had a faint blue outline surrounding him, Klaus knew what that meant. He had seen it happen to so many before him and he would keep seeing it after Graham was finally long gone. 

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP US, KLAUS. HELP ME. WHAT GOOD ARE YOU?" Graham stalked forward. "YOU'RE USELESS. YOU CAN'T HELP ANYONE."

Klaus waited for the attack. Graham seemed powerful enough he'd be able to do damage, just like the spirits in the mausoleum. Klaus deserved whatever Graham threw at him. He was supposed to help and he let another spirit down with broken promises of a happy afterlife. 

"Why," Graham said. Klaus looked up at him past the arms he had pulled around himself. "Why aren't you stopping me?" Graham finished. 

"I can't," Klaus whispered, lowering his arms. The blue-hue around Graham started to fade. 

"I'm sorry," Graham said, lower the fist he had made. "I'm sorry," he repeated, staring at Klaus who was still huddled up on the bed. "I think," Graham looked towards Klaus' closet. Klaus followed the gaze but didn't see what Graham had locked onto. "I'm ready to go." 

Graham started walking towards the closet. Klaus threw the blankets off of himself and shot off the bed. He reached out, hand hovering over Graham's shoulder. 

"Graham?" 

"Can you check on them for me? After I'm gone. Make sure they move on completely." 

"Where are you going?" 

"I don't know. Guess I won't be around after to tell you what's on the other side either." 

"Is there like, a light or something?"

"Something like that." Graham turned around. The marks were healed and the glass was gone. "Take care of yourself, Klaus." And then he was gone. Just like that, he disappeared in a flash of light. Klaus stared at where he once stood. Was that even possible? Could a spirit stop themselves from becoming a monster? Could they decide to move on on their own? 

Klaus never found out the answer. At first, he tried. He worked with spirits who wanted to move on, trying to replicate what had happened with Graham but never could. And then, after Ben died, he stopped trying. He didn't see the point in trying to help his brother move on, not when Ben was so determined to follow Klaus around and keep him from killing himself. That didn't stop the worrying. Klaus had seen it happen time and time again. His brother would eventually turn on him, and Klaus would let him do it. If any spirit was going to be the death of him, he'd want it to be Ben. 

It happened at the concert. They were under attack by Five's friends, Vanya was still destroying the world, and Ben decided to finally start going bad. It couldn't have been better timing, really. Klaus didn't want to die because of some red-leather wearing freaks or at the hands of his little sister who up until yesterday had been powerless.

Except Ben didn't kill him because Klaus was also glowing blue, or his hands were. The blue energy from Klaus flowed through his body to his brother who was no longer a ghost but a tangible being. Which. That was cool. Klaus didn't know he could do that. 

Everyone was staring. Good. They hadn't believed Klaus when he said Ben was there. They deserved to be bamboozled like this. Jokes on them, Klaus isn't crazy. And he also isn't useless, not anymore. 

"Oh, fuck yeah! Ben, let's do that again!" 

Ben didn't answer but he did smile at Klaus and that was enough. 

 

Maybe Klaus still didn't know how to help ghosts move on, and maybe he wasn't quite solid on physically manifesting them, but he had his brother on his side and Ben wasn't going anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> come join my [discord](https://discord.gg/Pwah8sR) and watch me slowly have a breakdown about classes


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